Special Monthly Compensation   To receive an SMC (s) (Housebound) award, you must either: Meet all of the following: You have a service-connected disability rated at 100% You have a qualifying, additional service-connected disability (or disabilities) that is completely separate from the first disability and is independently rated at 60% You are approved for VA disability compensation or   Be housebound: Your disabilities must directly cause you to be substantially confined to your home and the immediate premises or, if you are in an institution, to the ward or clinical areas Also, it must be reasonably certain that your disability or disabilities and confinement will continue for the rest of your life   To receive an SMC (t) award you must:  Need regular Aid and Attendance (A&A) for the residuals of (results of) Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Not be eligible for a higher level of A&A under SMC (r)(2) Need hospitalization, nursing home care, or other residential institutional care without in-home A&A   Eligibility for Aid and Attendance Usually, you may qualify for regular Aid and Attendance (A&A) benefits based on any of the following circumstances: You need the regular help of another person to perform everyday living activities, adjust prosthetic devices, or protect yourself from the hazards of your daily environment. Even if you are able to perform some of those functions, you may still be able to qualify for A&A, because the VA will consider the particular personal functions that you are unable to perform in connection with your condition as a whole. You are bedridden because your disability (or disabilities) requires you stay in bed, not because of any treatment you have had, such as surgery; or You are a patient in a nursing home because of a mental or physical incapacity; or You are blind, or so nearly blind as to have corrected visual acuity of 5/200 or less, in both eyes, or have concentric contraction of the visual field to 5 degrees or less.   When you apply for Aid & Attendance, your evidence must show that you actually need personal assistance from others. But you don’t need to show that you need it all the time, just that you need it regularly.   Spouses may also qualify for Aid & Attendance benefits.  If you are a veteran with a 30% or greater combined VA service-connected disability rating, and your spouse needs the aid and attendance of another person, you may be entitled to get a spouse-related Aid & Attendance compensation.   Usually, if you get VA disability compensation and you qualify for Aid & Attendance benefits, the VA will pay you at the SMC-L rate instead of your normal monthly disability compensation. There are exceptions to this, which can sometimes get you an increase in compensation or a larger amount altogether.    For more information on disabling conditions that the VA considers for Aid & Attendance, see your VSO.

What Every Veteran Should Carry                         No longer will you have to carry around your DD Form 214 as proof of your military service.  The Veteran ID Card will quickly establish you as a veteran, along with other essential benefits.  More... Veteran ID Card

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